About Paladin

 

Paladin: 

[pal-uh-din]

any knightly or heroic champion, or any determined advocate or defender of a noble cause

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This name was chosen because everything we are about is the training of  noble warriors, the moral use of

force, and the defense of oneself and others.  Warriors and defenders can be found on not just the field of

combat but also the battlefields of culture, public life, and the mind and heart.

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     Paladin Karate & Defensive Arts was actually based upon Christian American Karate which in turn was based on Tae Kwon Do in its core curriculum.  Being TKD-based, Paladin teaches the high kicks and other techniques that so often are hallmarks of the Korean-formed martial art.  However, it is called “karate” because any more that term has become to most people to be synonymous with “martial arts.”  Also included in the curriculum are jujitsu, Krav Maga, and cop-learned street self-defense or "combatives."  Thus it evolved into simply and collectively the "defensive arts."

 

    Being an amalgam of a number of styles and traditions both old and new Paladin is the martial art or defensive art of today.  It reaches for the goal of what works best in the real world for street defense where things are messy and rough (and thus the included elements of Krav Maga and street ju-jitsu) while keeping what still makes the traditional valuable (such as the discipline innate in TKD or karate and the strenuousness and efficacy of martial arts work-outs).

 

  With Paladin you can learn not only traditonal martial arts forms and techniques but also modern, ethical, and effective street self-defense methods (such as dealing with bullies at school, confrontations at work, muggings, kidnappings, or lethal encounters).  The training is geared toward the individual (age, gender, size, and environment) to maximize learning and practicality.

 

  There are also classes or seminars available for corporate group settings for schools or colleges or any type of business or organization, once again geared directly toward what the members of that group might face.  There is also training tailored for those in law enforcement or the military.  Such lessons are usually focused on straight-forward street self-defense, for civilians centered on the three principles of  avoidance (plan ahead), evasion (see the danger and re-assess and alter plans), and escape (when martial-arts training is used to face the danger and extricate oneself from it).  The simplest solution is usually the best.

 

     Paladin is American in the essence that it is rather eclectic and mixed, borrowing from various styles to make an effective, dynamic, and fluid style of its own.  Also, it is American in that the instruction usually moves at a fast pace consisting of a number of different focuses in each class (e.g., instead of spending an hour just working on a front kick and one stance, or just working on one type of thing, such as forms, the class usually involves 3-4 activities---forms and one-steps, bag work, sparring, and self-defense and escape techniques).

 

     Paladin is Christian in that, although the focus of the class is 99% physical and designed toward learning self-defense, it is taught and run under a Bible-based philosophy.  The class mottos are Isaiah 40:31 and Micah 6:8 and the Golden Rule is implicit in all that is instructed.  Students are encouraged to share prayer-requests, good news, and to develop friendships.   There is no mysticism of any kind taught, and the code of honor and justice that is inherent in a Biblical worldview is paramount, along with a hefty dose of good old-fashioned idealism such as 'truth, justice, and the American way.'

 

     Instruction includes a number of things:  forms or kata; one-steps sparrings (rehearsed and practiced combinations of techniques designed for response against one attacker); bag-work (kicking and using hand strikes on pads); blocking drills; rolls, falls, tumbles, throws, sweeps, escapes, and take-downs; sparring (with gloves and other protection--done in a medium- to light-contact manner); board-breaking (optional); many practical self-defense skills (e.g., how to escape a choke or head-lock or tackle); the use of pressure points; and role-playing (where students are placed into mock situations to test their responses under stress).  Above all, the proper use of the skills taught and how and when to use them and when not to is highlighted, defining the appropriate and moral use of force.  Prevention, intelligence, wisdom, good decisions, maturity, and avoidance are always preferred.

 

     The benefits of martial arts training include but are not limited to acquiring skills with which to defend oneself or others from violent attacks of various kinds, increasing flexibility and speed, strength-building, cardiovascular exercise, tension-release, weight-loss, muscle-toning, and fun.  Friendships, sometimes life-long, are forged; discipline, especially for kids, is made foundational.  There is the enjoyment obtained from both individual and group edification and progress.  And in Paladin Karate & Defensive Arts there is also the outreach---martial arts schools are prolific, underscoring the high public interest that is out there.  But most schools do not have a Christian and old-fashioned American emphasis and philosophy and perhaps don’t stress the proper, ethical, and legal use of force…we do.  Nor do many have instruction based upon many years of real-life police experience.  As we often teach, the real battles are usually the unseen ones, wars of culture and of the heart and soul, and those are the most important.

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Pricing

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  Given that I'm a retired cop and also have not liked the idea of gouging people on prices, you will find that our tuition prices are 1/2 to 1/3 of what you will find at store-front schools in this area and in most places (usually in the area of $50-60 a month).  Our test fees are $35 for any rank test, and there is an annual $10 registration fee.  There is also offered a family discount of the 3rd member of an immediate family only pays 50% tuition and 4th + members are free!  

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  Classes can be found in New Tampa, Brandon, and Ocala, Florida.  Email, call, or text for locations and venues.

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Biography

 

  I was a Tampa street cop for over 25 years and am a 4th-degree black belt in American Karate (explained above) mixed with learning in Krav Maga (1st degree black belt) and jujitsu (1st degree black belt) and the experience that has come from a number of real fights while working as a police officer.

 

  I went to high school and college in Pensacola where I tutored math from lower grades to college-level while getting a B.S. in physics and a B.A. and Masters in history.   From there I went into the CIA where I worked undercover for some years across the globe.  It was in Washington, D.C. that I first began to study the martial arts.  Following that service, I came to Tampa to teach karate professionally and taught & tutored math which I did for some years before joining TPD.  I worked for the first 9 years on the midnight shift in high crime areas, from which I carry the physical scars of my real-life encounters with killers and thugs, including a bullet in my shoulder and the scars of having had staples in my head twice.  I balanced my career in such ways that enhanced and benefited my family.  

 

 Paladin Karate is a passion and I believe can be a great outreach and good thing for those seeking eclectic karate training, straight-up and effective and often simple self-defense and personal-protection skills,  a good after-school program for kids, a platform for learning sensible self-defense and personal-protection for those in the corporate world, or simply a good family-oriented activity to do together while also offering tough and realistic self-defense training for all ages.

 

--Jon Touchton